Running board



H. D. GEYER 1,991,739

RUNNNG BOARD Filed May 51,y 195o sneek-sheet 1 Feb. 19, 1935.

Feb. 19, 1935. D. GEYER RUNNING BOARD Filed May 31, 195o 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 om.. om, om.

G QM. MIJO QM, I@ MII@ mw i Q Omlr O O bh: om, G\ O N//J Q\ O QNIO llll llhmwllllrxlll|ll NN can be very economically made in large Patented Feb. 19, 1935 mesne assignments, to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Dela- Ware Application May 3.1, 1930, Serial N0. 457,741

2 Claims.

This invention relates to running boards for automobiles and the like.

An object of this invention is to provide a neat appearing highly ecient running board which quantities. v

Another --object is to provide such a running board from a' unitary sheet metal main body and having l'upwardly curved end portions conforming to the curvature of and adapted for attachment to the adjacent wheel fenders, whereby the joints between said end portions and fenders are raised above the level of the step portion and hence are less subject to rust or corrosion from water. Another feature is the upwardly curved inside longitudinal marginal portion adapted for attachment to the metal apron or body sill, as

the case may be, whereby such attachment joint is raised and hence is less subject to rust and corrosion.

Another feature of this invention is the molded rubber covering for the step portion whichalso extends over the upwardly curved end portions and longitudinal marginal portion and the attachment flanges on these portions, and thereby provides an economical form of metal isolating and water-sealed joint where the wheel fenders and metal apron are attached to the rimning board. Such joints cannot squeak or rattle and they also greatly reduce vibration and drum noises in all these parts.

Another feature is the decorative trim rail for the outside marginal edge of the step portion which may be simply and rigidly secured to the step portion after the rubber covering is molded thereon. .Thus the trim rail, which is preferably of some bright metal, is not applied until after the molding operation and hence it willnot be subjected to the tarnishing effect which it would undergo if it were-inserted in the vulcanizing mold with the other parts.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings wherein a preferred embodiment of one form of the present invention is clearly shown. v Y

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 shows in side elevation a right running board for automobiles according to this invention, and also shows in dotted lines how the front and rear wheel fenders are to be attached thereto.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the detached running board, the central portions of Figs. 1 and 2 be- (Cl. 28o-163) ing broken away to indicate a greater length than shown.

Fig. 3 is a transverse section on line 3-3 of Fig. 1. i

Fig. 4 is an end elevation looking in the direction of arrow 4 of Fig. 2.-

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the pressed sheet metal main body before the rubber covering is applied thereto. v

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of Fig. 5. the central portion of Figs. 5 and 6 being broken away.

Fig. 7 is an end elevation of Fig. 5.

j Fig. 8 is a partial section on line 8-8 of Fig. 6, showing the depending stiffening ange.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

Numeral 10 designates a pressed sheet metal main body, preferably formed from #'16 U. S. Ga. sheet steel, which is shown detached from other parts in the detail views of Figs. 5 to 8. This main body 10 is pressed from sheet steel to the form shown by suitable dies and by well known methods. It has a step portion 11 which is substantially horizontal through the greater portion of its length, but at its front end 12 it is curved upwardly with a gradual curve corresponding to and aligned with the curvature of the attached front fender 13 shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1. The rear end 15 of step portion 11 is curved rather abruptly upwardly to align with the vertical or substantially vertical portion of rear wheel fender 14 shown in dotted lines in Fig. l. These upwardly curved end portions 12 and 15 are provided at their ends with suitable attachment flanges 16 and 17 respectively to which the front and rear fenders 13 and 14 may be suitably bolted by means of the small bolts 18 which extend through suitable holes 19 in said flanges.

The longitudinal inside marginal portion of the main body 10 is likewise curved upwardly as shown at 20, and terminates on a level with the ends of the front and rear end portions 12 and 15 of the step portion 11. The raised marginal portion 20 has a horizontal flange 21 integral therewith which lies flush with the rear end ange 17. This flange 21 has suitable bolt holes 22 therein whereby said flange is attached securely to the usual sheet metal apronv (not shown) which extends between the body sill and the running board on ordinary passenger car bodies. In certain designs of bodies such an apron member may be dispensed with entirely and the ilange 21 attached directly to the body sill since the upwardly curved longitudinal portion 20 may be suflicient y to close the space between the step portion and the body sill.

The main steel body 10 has a longitudinally extending upwardly projecting bead 24 and a depending flange 25 on its outside edge for stiffening and strengthening purposes. This flange 25 preferably has a stiffening bulge or corrugation 26 therein (see Fig. 8) which extends from the elongated hole 27 near the front end to a similar hole 28 near the rear end of flange 25. The additional holes 29 in flange 25 are for the obvious purpose of facilitating the proper shaping of the' flange in the press. Flange 25 preferably abuts and is welded to the flanges 16 and 17 at the front and rear ends thereof, which greatly strengthens these corners and renders the body 10 very rigid. The step portion 11 is preferably provided with spaced holes 30 throughout its area whereby the molded covering 40 may be more securely bonded thereto by an interlocking relation (see Fig. 3).

' 'I'he main steel body 10 is covered with a sheet of uncured rubber and set within the vulcanizing mold and has the rubber covering 40 bonded directly thereto during its vulcanization. The molded rubber covering 40 is preferably about 5% inch in thickness and extends over the entire step portion 11, the upwardly curved portions 12, 15 and 20, and the attachment flanges 16, 17 and 21 (see Figs. 1 to 4). By thus covering the steel flanges 16, 17, and 21 with a layer 41 of resilient rubber there is obtained a metal isolating connection between the metal body 10 and the wheel fenders 13 and 14 and the apron (not shown) attached thereto. Preferably the holes 19 and 22 in these flanges are lined with rubber during the molding operation so that all these bolt holes have integral rubber bushings therein (see Fig. 3) which isolate the small bolts 18 from the body 10. This construction provides Very simple and eflicient resilient-metal isolating joints between the running board body 10 and its attached parts and so greatly reduces vibrations and -squeaks or rattles in these parts after a period of use. Also since these joints are raised preferably about two inches above the level of the step portion 11, water will not tend to collect and stand in these joints whenever the car is wet from rain or washing and hence rust or corrosion at these joints is substantially eliminated. Of course the resilient rubber covering 41 on the attachment flanges also greatly aids in eliminating rust and corrosion in the joints by its effect of making substantially water tight joints.

After the steel body 10 is covered with molded rubber, as described above, a decorative trim rail 50 is secured in place thereto tocover up the depending steel ange 25 and the raised bead 24 along the outside margin which are not encased in molded rubber. Trim rail 50 is preferably pressed from sheet metal such as aluminum or any suitable non-rusting and decorative metal. It has a hooked over upper edge 51 which fits snugly over the raised bead 24 on the steel body 10, and a lower inwardly and upwardly turned bottom edge 52 which is first formed as turned up at an angle of about 45 degrees from the vertical. This will enable the trim rail 50 to be easily fixed in place simply by setting the hooked upper edge 51 over the bead 24 and snapping the hooked bottom edge 52 thereof aroun'd the bottom edge of steel flange 25. The edge 52 is then easily crimped up against the steel flange 25 (as shown in Fig. 3) to firmly fix the trim rail 50 to the body 10. It will .be noted that the only exposed to view part of the steel body 10 which is not rubber covered is thus covered by the trim rail 50, and hence it will not be necessary to polish any metal part tarnished by the vulcanizing operation.

While the form of embodiment of the present invention as herein disclosed, constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, all coming within the scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. A running'board for automobiles comprising: a pressed sheet metal main body having a step portion and a longitudinal inner marginal portion of substantial width curved upwardly above said step portion, said raised marginal portion having a longitudinally extending flange thereon having bolt holes for attaching it to an adjacent body member, and a resilient rubber covering vulcanized to said longitudinal flange and having integral rubber bushings vulcanized within said bolt holes in such manner that said resilient 'rubber covering and integral rubber bushings provide aresilient metal-isolating joint between said longitudinal flange and the body member to be bolted thereto.

2. In combinationI with an automobile having a longitudinally extending body sill, a running board comprising: a unitary pressed sheet metal main body having a horizontal step portion and an integral `longitudinal inner marginal portion 4curved upwardly above said step portion, said 

